


Sketchbook Evolution

by wh33zy



Category: One Piece
Genre: First Kiss, Gen, Getting Together, M/M, Secret Crush, why was this 8 pages long
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:28:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21753742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wh33zy/pseuds/wh33zy
Summary: Usopp's drawings of Sanji has definitely evolved as time marched on...
Relationships: Usopp/Vinsmoke Sanji
Comments: 18
Kudos: 240





	Sketchbook Evolution

His sketchbook, a book he held more sacred than most in his tight collection, used to be one of variety. From strange flowers he  _ had  _ to sketch down from his travels to monsters his knees have  _ definitely  _ shaken at to scenes that some of his fairytale books have only described with words, not every page was ever the same. Maybe some would share the nature theme, but there was  _ always a variety _ , and for a guy who rather liked things to be the same, this was one of his few exceptions. 

And then there was Sanji. 

See, drawing was a way he got out his frustrations; it was Nami’s equivalent to writing an angry letter and then throwing it away or Zoro kicking a wall. Since Usopp and Sanji didn’t always get along, this led to some really  _ frustrated  _ sketches. At first, he was petty enough to not even  _ want  _ Sanji tainting his precious sketchbook so he’d throw himself into drawing anything else that required detail and focus. Then it became angry,  _ spiteful  _ little doodles that couldn’t be thrown out lest Sanji somehow find them and then kick his ass (literally). 

But, as “crewmember” went from “more than tolerable acquaintance” and then became “friends”, his sketches were less rough, a little  _ pleasant.  _ Usopp likes to draw eyes, they’re fun and easy, and he found Sanji’s to be the most interesting. Maybe even more so since he can’t see the other one. Detailed but small sketches of Sanji’s eye with that signature swirly eyebrow graces his sketchbook after a while. Then there were the things he wore; a collared shirt with stripes, a blazer with a flower carefully placed in the breast pocket, the shiniest but the blackest dress shoes. Those angry little doodles became a little more detailed and less insulting until they stopped altogether.

After that, there were  _ more.  _ But, this time, they were in admiration which carried almost too many themes. One day, Usopp could admire his prowess and confidence, his sheer bravery or even his love for women, his  _ strength  _ was a huge one, his abundance of grace- he could go  _ on.  _ A lot of times, his sketches became many themes, which is just a fancy word for reasons why he  _ really liked  _ Sanji. He wasn’t sure if it was just this harmless admiration or just him thinking that if he drew it enough, he could be like that too. 

Then...then they were just  _ depressing.  _

Although the sketches of Sanji became so  _ detailed  _ that it would take him  _ days  _ at a time to finish them, they were filled with hopeless sighs and the realizations of unrequited love. He didn’t mean for admiring such an amazing crew member to turn into such a terrible,  _ terrible  _ thing but...how can you help  _ not  _ loving someone as amazing and nearly perfect as the crew’s cook? And if he already didn’t have a chance for not winning the genetic lottery, then he  _ really  _ did have one since he wasn’t a woman, couldn’t be, and didn’t want to be. 

Sure, sketching Sanji got those ‘oh, gosh’ blushy moments of his out of the way where he forgets that he had zero chance with him because of that heart flutter but that was only in the first hour or two, sometimes a lot sooner. Really, he wasn’t certain because all those unrequited feelings and how he’s  _ trying  _ to get over him hit him  _ right  _ in the middle of his sketch. He could be in the kitchen, providing the bored older man with a nice chat he had been looking forward to, generally in a good mood as he innocently used Sanji cooking as ‘still-life’ practice. And then, his brain would remind him of what he could only  _ think  _ about, and by then he’s not even halfway through shading as he forces a laugh at some joke so he didn’t come off as if his mood just  _ tanked  _ for the day. 

Those sketches trickled to them being started, but never being finished because each time those realizations happened, he was less inspired to keep drawing. If there was one mood that he  _ couldn’t  _ draw in (or at least draw the best he could), it was when he was depressed or disappointed. In this case, both and  _ incredibly  _ so. So many pages were half done, and he contemplated ripping them out and throwing them into the sea so he wouldn’t have to look at something so sad. But, some weird part of him promised that they would be finished. Soon enough...when he’d get over this stupid crush. It’d get better, and then he’d finish these and move on to better things to draw. 

Moving on isn’t easy though, he soon realizes, so he decided to stop waiting for it. He was more of a man for action anyway and sought out ways to move on. Of course, he couldn’t ask anyone, but Nami and Robin’s shared library was extensive...but that’d be way too much time. So, he just  _ refrains  _ from drawing Sanji and strictly drawing other things and other crewmates. Of course, this was almost torture for a while because the way the light is shining into the kitchen or that smoke coming from his cigarette as he leaned on the railing in warm evening winds is just  _ too  _ photogenic not to draw  _ but-  _

He’ll write it down, what he saw at least. So when he’s “better”, he can draw it because it’s  _ clearly  _ not because he has a crush it’s just... _ aesthetically pleasing.  _ Besides, he doesn’t  _ need  _ a reason because art itself doesn’t  _ need  _ a reason. It’s just...purely for the want to draw. It’s  _ practice  _ even! It’s nothing! It means nothing! He can draw just to draw! 

And when that pure want arises, he can’t find the damn thing. He searched around the ship, asked Chopper if he’s seen the book, the book, the book, the- 

_ The book!  _

Usopp can’t even gasp aloud when he enters the kitchen, the smell of sweet, mixed-berry pie baking in the oven sliding into his nose. But it does nothing to lessen the  _ horror  _ of seeing Sanji, idly smoking a cigarette and flipping through it, even casually tapping the cancer-stick into an ashtray before sliding it between his lips again. His eyes narrow, brows furrow as he turns the page, staring down at a  _ very  _ detailed drawing of him with a basket of bread over the crook of his arm as he walked through a busy market. 

The younger man opens his mouth, hands shakily coming up to wring themselves as he carefully stepped up to the table. 

The timer on the oven goes off, making Usopp sharply inhale and nearly jump out of his skin. 

The blond silently digs his bud into the ashtray, closes the book, and stands. He calmly hands it back to its rightful owner whose hands seem to scramble over it quickly before pressing it to his defined chest that was hidden under teal overalls. His face was on fire, hoping that they could just not say a word about this but- 

“You’re amazing.” Sanji says to him with a smile, then moving past him to get to the oven. 

Usopp sharply pivots to keep facing him. “I-” The less words, the less time wasted, the quicker we can run away. “Th-Thank you.” The compliment makes him release a chuckle and grin anyway. 

“And before you run away,” Sanji quickly says over his shoulder before as he opens the oven, pulling the steaming pie out. “Can I ask you something?” 

The nervous brunet only presses his back against the door. “Ye...Yes?” 

“Why do you draw me so much?” Is said over the pan clanking against the stovetop.

_ Christ, that is the  _ one  _ question he was never to ask! Stupid, stupid! How could he leave his sketchbook unattended!?  _

Nearly gulping. “I-I draw you a lot?”

“Don’t play dumb or you’re not gonna get a piece.” 

He can only scoff at that. “I’m not Luffy! You can’t  _ bribe  _ me with food!” 

“That’s right!” Sanji exclaims back, his poor acting portraying a man who just remembered and was sorely mistaken. “You’re the brave warrior of the sea, aren’t you?” He asks, sauntering over to the sniper who tries to sink through the door. A hand plants itself right next to his head, his eyes glancing at it before looking up at the cook. “So you can just answer the question, right?” 

Usopp has a more determined look on his face now. “Why do you want to know?” 

A dark, swirly brow only cocks in return. Almost like he was  _ amused.  _

A huff, arms tightening around the sketchbook. “Look, I’ll get rid of them, okay? I’m sorr-” 

“I’m not mad! Why would I compliment you then?” Sanji stands straighter now, both arms coming back to cross over his chest. “Just curious. That’s all. And  _ then  _ you can run away all you want.”

The younger man glares at him. “Then you better start changing your tone.” 

“Yes, sir.”

Brown eyes narrow at him for that touch of sarcasm- 

“Oh, sorry, we’re on a pirate ship so: aye, aye, captain.” 

“You suck and so do your jokes,” Usopp says with all the distaste in the world (which only serves to make his crush laugh at him) before opening the door, and just as he’s about to leave, “But you’re very nice to draw.” He almost slams the thing and quickly makes for his hammock. 

Sanji stops laughing because that response... _ only left more questions.  _ Because what did he mean by that? Was he being sarcastic?  _ Was he lying?  _

_ That’s  _ when Usopp stopped drawing Sanji cold turkey. Stopped fantasizing and disappointing himself. Stopped pretending that the Sanji in his sketchbook liked him too. He even went as far as to prove he wasn’t drawing Sanji whenever the older man thought it to be so clever to dramatically pose,  _ expecting  _ to be admired and drawn. Brown eyes only give him a deadpan look, turning the book around and revealing the flower vase that was beside him. It’s all so great! He’s focused on other things and feels like he’s on the steady climb to recovering from this crush, this  _ thing.  _ He’s onto drawing other things, though he’s found that a lot of them are blue...which is his crush’s favorite color so he tries to find anything yellow to reference. Yellow is happy, and blue is...he didn’t want to  _ feel  _ blue anymore. Hell, maybe he never  _ really  _ liked the color blue in the first place. 

This was all until, after Pudding, after gnawing on his bottom lip in worry for a solid few weeks about whether or not Sanji was coming back, he was kissed. 

It was hard on his mouth, it was completely unexpected, and his breath was caught in his throat. Usopp was confident that he was drunk only until he realized that he tasted no alcohol. Then he was worried about them being caught by the rest of the crew, but remembered that Sanji had yanked him behind a thick tree. 

He made some kind of high pitched,  _ surprised  _ noise when something wet tried entering his mouth. His heart was thrumming hard and fast in his ears. Instinctively, he shifts backwards, only to have the large tree trunk keep him in place, along with hands cupping his narrow jaw. He doesn’t know what to do! No one’s ever kissed him before and he never thought to prepare for something that would probably never happen! 

The kiss finally breaks, Usopp only able to look at his crewmate shocked and a little pissed off. “Don’t surprise me like- what the-” He hisses. “What the hell was that!?” 

“Sorry…!” Sanji says breathlessly (but almost like he didn’t mean it), not bothering to put any really space between them. “I’m just happy to see you.” 

“I’ll say! You took my first kiss, you know!”

Pretty much ignoring him, “And if I were to be forced to marry anyone, I’d want it to be you.” 

Usopp can only release a wheeze at that.

That’s when Sanji graced his sketchbook again, but it wasn’t the same. 

His drawings were  _ soft  _ and warm but weren’t filled with longing. They were grateful and full of love. It was obvious that he really took his time, as if he was conveying what he felt through every scratch of his pencil, confessing all over again with every swipe of his paintbrush. Soon, maybe not terribly, he’d be bold enough to draw a scene with the two of them together. 

**Author's Note:**

> I really love the idea of Usopp sketching Sanji!!


End file.
